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FAX: [1] (202) 986-1805

consulate(s) general: New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Karen B. STEWART

embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya Street, Minsk 220002

mailing address: PSC 78, Box B Minsk, APO 09723

telephone: [375] (17) 210-12-83, 217-7347, 217-7348

FAX: [375] (17) 234-7853

Flag description:

red horizontal band (top) and green horizontal band one-half the width of the red band; a white vertical stripe on the hoist side bears Belarusian national ornamentation in red

Economy Belarus

Economy - overview:

Belarus has seen little structural reform since 1995, when President LUKASHENKO launched the country on the path of "market socialism." In keeping with this policy, LUKASHENKO reimposed administrative controls over prices and currency exchange rates and expanded the state's right to intervene in the management of private enterprises. Since 2005, the government has re-nationalized a number of private companies. In addition, businesses have been subject to pressure by central and local governments, e.g., arbitrary changes in regulations, numerous rigorous inspections, retroactive application of new business regulations, and arrests of "disruptive" businessmen and factory owners. A wide range of redistributive policies has helped those at the bottom of the ladder; the Gini coefficient is among the lowest in the world. Because of these restrictive economic policies, Belarus has had trouble attracting foreign investment. Nevertheless, GDP growth has been strong in recent years, reaching nearly 7% in 2007, despite the roadblocks of a tough, centrally directed economy with a high, but decreasing, rate of inflation. Belarus receives heavily discounted oil and natural gas from Russia and much of Belarus' growth can be attributed to the re-export of Russian oil at market prices. Trade with Russia - by far its largest single trade partner - decreased in 2007, largely as a result of a change in the way the Value Added Tax (VAT) on trade was collected. Russia has introduced an export duty on oil shipped to Belarus, which will increase gradually through 2009, and a requirement that Belarusian duties on re-exported Russian oil be shared with Russia - 80% will go to Russia in 2008, and 85% in 2009. Russia also increased Belarusian natural gas prices from $47 per thousand cubic meters (tcm) to $100 per tcm in 2007, and plans to increase prices gradually to world levels by 2011. Russia's recent policy of bringing energy prices for Belarus to world market levels may result in a slowdown in economic growth in Belarus over the next few years. Some policy measures, including tightening of fiscal and monetary policies, improving energy efficiency, and diversifying exports, have been introduced, but external borrowing has been the main mechanism used to manage the growing pressures on the economy.

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$105.2 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):

$44.77 billion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

8.2% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$10,900 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 8.7%

industry: 40.6%

services: 50.6% (2007 est.)

Labor force:

4.3 million (31 December 2005)

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture: 14%

industry: 34.7%

services: 51.3% (2003 est.)

Unemployment rate:

1.6% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2005)

Population below poverty line:

27.1% (2003 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: 3.4%

highest 10%: 23.5% (2002)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:

29.7 (2002)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

8.4% (2007 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):

29.9% of GDP (2007 est.)

Budget:

revenues: $20.76 billion

expenditures: $21.18 billion (2007 est.)

Agriculture - products:

grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk

Industries:

metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, synthetic fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators

Industrial production growth rate:

5% (2007 est.)

Electricity - production:

29.08 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel: 99.5%

hydro: 0.1%

nuclear: 0%

other: 0.4% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:

29.49 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - exports:

5.053 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - imports:

9.091 billion kWh (2005)

Oil - production:

33,700 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption:

156,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - exports:

249,900 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - imports:

378,200 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - proved reserves:

198 million bbl (1 January 2006 est.)

Natural gas - production:

165 million cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:

19.47 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - exports:

0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - imports:

19.31 billion cu m (2005)

Natural gas - proved reserves:

2.716 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Current account balance:

-$2.944 billion (2007 est.)

Exports:

$23.04 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities:

machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs

Exports - partners:

Russia 34.7%, Netherlands 17.7%, UK 7.5%, Ukraine 6.3%, Poland 5.2% (2006)

Imports:

$27.57 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Imports - commodities:

mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals

Imports - partners:

Russia 58.6%, Germany 7.5%, Ukraine 5.5% (2006)

Economic aid - recipient:

$53.76 million (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

$2.469 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Debt - external:

$6.889 billion (31 December 2007)

Market value of publicly traded shares:

$NA

Currency (code):

Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR)

Currency code:

BYB/BYR

Exchange rates:

Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 2,145 (2007), 2,144.6 (2006), 2,150 (2005), 2,160.26 (2004), 2,051.27 (2003)

Fiscal year:

calendar year

Communications Belarus

Telephones - main lines in use:

3.368 million (2006)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

5.96 million (2006)

Telephone system:

general assessment: Belarus lags behind its neighbors in upgrading telecommunications infrastructure; state-owned Beltelcom is the sole provider of fixed-line local and long distance service; fixed-line teledensity of 33 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density of 58 per 100 persons; modernization of the network progressing with roughly two-thirds of switching equipment now digital

domestic: fixed-line penetration is improving although rural areas continue to be underserved; 4 GSM wireless networks are experiencing rapid growth; strict government controls on telecommunications technologies

international: country code - 375; Belarus is a member of the Trans-European Line (TEL), Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line, and has access to the Trans-Siberia Line (TSL); 3 fiber-optic segments provide connectivity to Latvia, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine; worldwide service is available to Belarus through this infrastructure; additional analog lines to Russia; Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik earth stations (2007)

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)

Radios:

3.02 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:

47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)

Televisions:

2.52 million (1997)

Internet country code:

.by

Internet hosts:

20,685 (2007)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

23 (2002)

Internet users:

5.478 million (2006)

Transportation Belarus

Airports:

67 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 36

over 3,047 m: 2

2,438 to 3,047 m: 22

1,524 to 2,437 m: 4

914 to 1,523 m: 1

under 914 m: 7 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 31

2,438 to 3,047 m: 1

1,524 to 2,437 m: 1

914 to 1,523 m: 2

under 914 m: 27 (2007)

Heliports:

1 (2007)

Pipelines:

gas 5,250 km; oil 1,528 km; refined products 1,730 km (2007)

Railways:

total: 5,512 km

broad gauge: 5,497 km 1.520-m gauge (874 km electrified)

standard gauge: 15 km 1.435 m (2006)

Roadways:

total: 94,797 km

paved: 84,028 km

unpaved: 10,769 km (2005)

Waterways:

2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003)

Ports and terminals:

Mazyr

Military Belarus

Military branches:

Belarus Armed Forces: Land Force, Air and Air Defense Force (2008)

Military service age and obligation:

18-27 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - 18 months (2005)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 2,491,643

females age 16-49: 2,528,779 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 1,727,974

females age 16-49: 2,093,106 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

males age 16-49: 64,232

females age 16-49: 60,788 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:

1.4% (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues Belarus

Disputes - international:

Boundary demarcated with Latvia and Lithuania in 2006; 1997 boundary delimitation treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and diminishing border security

Illicit drugs:

limited cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis, mostly for the domestic market; transshipment point for illicit drugs to and via Russia, and to the Baltics and Western Europe; a small and lightly regulated financial center; new anti-money-laundering legislation does not meet international standards; few investigations or prosecutions of money-laundering activities

This page was last updated on 15 July, 2008

The World Factbook

Belgium

Introduction Belgium

Background:

Belgium became independent from the Netherlands in 1830; it was occupied by Germany during World Wars I and II. The country prospered in the past half century as a modern, technologically advanced European state and member of NATO and the EU. Tensions between the Dutch-speaking Flemings of the north and the French-speaking Walloons of the south have led in recent years to constitutional amendments granting these regions formal recognition and autonomy.

Geography Belgium

Location:

Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between France and the Netherlands

Geographic coordinates:

50 50 N, 4 00 E

Map references:

Europe

Area:

total: 30,528 sq km

land: 30,278 sq km

water: 250 sq km

Area - comparative:

about the size of Maryland

Land boundaries:

total: 1,385 km

border countries: France 620 km, Germany 167 km, Luxembourg 148 km, Netherlands 450 km

Coastline:

66.5 km

Maritime claims:

territorial sea: 12 nm

contiguous zone: 24 nm

exclusive economic zone: geographic coordinates define outer limit

continental shelf: median line with neighbors

Climate:

temperate; mild winters, cool summers; rainy, humid, cloudy

Terrain:

flat coastal plains in northwest, central rolling hills, rugged mountains of Ardennes Forest in southeast

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: North Sea 0 m

highest point: Signal de Botrange 694 m

Natural resources:

construction materials, silica sand, carbonates

Land use:

arable land: 27.42%

permanent crops: 0.69%

other: 71.89%

note: includes Luxembourg (2005)

Irrigated land:

400 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources:

20.8 cu km (2005)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic / industrial / agricultural):

total: 7.44 cu km/yr (13%/85%/1%)

per capita: 714 cu m/yr (1998)

Natural hazards:

flooding is a threat along rivers and in areas of reclaimed coastal land, protected from the sea by concrete dikes

Environment - current issues:

the environment is exposed to intense pressures from human activities: urbanization, dense transportation network, industry, extensive animal breeding and crop cultivation; air and water pollution also have repercussions for neighboring countries; uncertainties regarding federal and regional responsibilities (now resolved) had slowed progress in tackling environmental challenges

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:

crossroads of Western Europe; most West European capitals within 1,000 km of Brussels, the seat of both the European Union and NATO

People Belgium

Population:

10,403,951 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 16.3% (male 864,287/female 828,435)

15-64 years: 66.3% (male 3,476,802/female 3,416,383)

65 years and over: 17.5% (male 751,745/female 1,066,299) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 41.4 years

male: 40.2 years

female: 42.7 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

0.106% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

10.22 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

10.38 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate:

1.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female

total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 4.5 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 5.06 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 3.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 79.07 years

male: 75.9 years

female: 82.38 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate:

1.65 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

0.2% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: